Darning apparatus.



No. 787,431. PATENTED APR. 18, 1905. H. S. BREGHIN.

DARNING APPARATUS. APPLICATION. FILED JULY 29, 1902.

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UNITED STATES Patented April 18', 1995.

PATENT OFFICE.

DARNING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,431, dated April 18, 1905.

Application filed July 29, 1902. Serial No. 117,512.

To all whmn it 11mg concern:

Be it known that I, HELEN SMALL BRECHIN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 1 Grosvenor Terrace, in the county of Aberdeen, Scotland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Darning Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to apparatus for darning holes in woolen articles and the like, and has for its object to provide a simple apparatus which can be readily applied to the article to be darned, over the hole, and which renders the darning operation simple and easily etl'ected and which insures that the darn when completed shall be stronger, more regular, and

altogether better than it can be made by the use of a darning-needle in the ordinary way.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, 1 will describe it in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the apparatus applied in position to darn a hole. Fig. 2 is a crosssection of the same, showing the parts in one position; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section showing the parts in another position.

Briefly expressed, the apparatus comprises, essentially, a large comb A, having a series of prongs a a, each of which is grooved at a, so as to hold one set of the wool threads in position, and a small comb B, fitted over the comb A, having a series of short prongs 7) 5, each about one-quarter the length of the prongs a a, having hooked ends 6' b. The comb A has hooks a a by which it is attached to the article to be darned over the hole, as shown, and is provided with side pieces a a each of which has a groove 0*, in which the ends of the comb B fit, so that the comb B can work up and down relatively to the comb A. Preferably the grooves cf (0* have side grooves a a in connection with them at one end, so that the comb B when moved to one extreme position can be retained there. The prongs Z) I) are arranged so that they come opposite the spaces between the prongs a a, as shown.

To effect a darn, the apparatus is fitted over the hole, as shown in Fig. 4. and the hooks a (t are engaged in the material below the hole. The wool is then passed, by means of a darning-needle, through the material of the article to be darned at c and is then drawn between a side piece a and the first prong a and fitted in its groove (0 and then to the top of the hole. The wool is then taken to the first prong 5, passed around its hook b, and to the top of the hole again. It is then passed around the second prong a.and so on alternately to a prong a and to a prong Z) for the width of the hole. It will then be seen that a series of vertical threads 0 c, c c are provided across the hole. To complete the darn, the combB is raised to the position shown in Fig. 2, so that one set of the threads, 0 c, is raised by a shedding action above the other set, 0 c and the darningeneedle is passed between the two sets from one side of the hole to the other, as indicated by the horizontal lines in Fig. 1 and dots in Fig. 2. The wool is applied at about the position 0 and is then drawn taut, so as to occupy its proper position. After being passed through the material again at the side the comb B is moved to its other position, Fig. 3. so that the positions of the threads 0 c, c c are reversed, and the darning-needle is passed back between the threads, as shown in Fig. 3, 0 indicating the loose position before the wool is drawn taut. The small comb B is then moved to its first position and the operations repeated, and so on until the whole is entirely crossed with horizontal threads passing alternately under and over the vertical threads, as is usual in darning, and without the trouble experienced in doing this in the ordinary manner with a needle. To finish, the wool is slipped off the prongs and the apparatus removed. The loose lower ends of the wool are then darned with the needle around the edges of the hole.

As the article darned is, as a rule, of a limp character, although the hooks c c are engaged in it, the positions of the threads, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, will be substantially correct, and no difficulty will be experienced in applying the threads as directed.

in some cases it may be desirable to arrange that there be only single strands in each component of each set instead of double ones, as are formed by the loops as described, and I have therefore indicated on the right-hand section of Fig. 1 the Wool so arranged, the Wool being passed from a large prong a direct to a small prong 6, so that one-half of each loop belongs to each set of strands during the completing operation with the needle.

In practice the apparatus will be made of a size and width suitable for all ordinary darns.

I claim In apparatus of the class described the combination of a fixed comb having means for its attachment to a fabric and provided with grooved end pieces and prongs, and a movable comb having its ends slidable inthe grooves of the end pieces of the fixed comb and provided with hooks to engage the yarn, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HELEN SMALL BREOHIN.

VV-itnesses:

WILLIAM Ross, HUGH DUNCAN; 

